Life in the Armenian Diaspora

YerazArt: New Musicians from Armenia

2008-10-05T00:42:00.001+05:00

I had the pleasure to attend the YerazArt concert at Alex Theater in Glendale on Sunday. With a busy schedule and too many demands I don�t find myself at Armenian events very often, but this was special.

It was described to me as a concert with six talented musical prodigies who won a competition in Armenia that would bring them on a tour through Glendale, Toronto and Boston. Even beyond the music and talent, being recognized in this way for your effort and accomplishments at this age is a rare treat that I appreciated. There is a difference between talent, application of talent, and recognition for what you put forth so I was touched to hear that these kids were given this opportunity.

The shows that I generally go to are multi-layered in their application but this was raw and real � there were no barriers, only me and the music and I very much enjoyed that from these kids. For many it was a throwback to the music they grew up with or connected them to grandparents. My absolute favorite moment was when Vartan Davtyan took the stage with his guitar and began to play Noubar Noubar (Komitas by Iakovos Kolanian). The melody was gorgeous, one I had heard before, but never live and that has stayed with me the most...

Thanks to my good friend Dzovag who took part in bringing this show to Los Angeles! I wanted to come here and put up a little blurb about my experience with YerazArt:)

If they come to your city, enjoy!

YerazArt: New Musicians from Armenia

2008-10-04T00:34:00.001+05:00

I had the pleasure to attend the YerazArt concert at Alex Theatre in Glendale on Sunday. With a busy schedule and too many demands I don�t often find myself at Armenian events, but this was special.

It was described to me as a concert with six talented musical prodigies who won a competition in Armenia that would bring them on a tour through a few cities in North America. Even beyond the music and talent, being recognized in this way for your effort and accomplishments at this age is a rare treat that I appreciated. There is a difference between talent, application of talent, and recognition for what you put forth so I was touched to hear that these kids were given this opportunity.

The shows that I generally go to are multi-layered in their application but this was raw and real � there were no barriers, only me and the music and I very much enjoyed that. My absolute favorite moment was when Vartan Davtyan took the stage with his guitar and began to play Noubar Noubar (Komitas by Iakovos Kolanian). The melody was gorgeous, one I had heard before, but never live and that has stayed with me the most.

Thanks to my good friend Dzovag who took part in bringing this show to Los Angeles! I wanted to come here and put up a little blurb about my experience with YerazArt:)

If they come to your city, enjoy!

New US Ambassador to Armenia

2008-09-18T19:59:00.003+05:00

After 2 full years, Armenia has a new US Ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch. I'm not very happy about this, I prefer that no Ambassador be confirmed by the Senate unless they admit to the genocide - which none will do until the State Department changes its policy. At least Marie finally admitted the no g-word policy exists. Even this is progress in the backwards, evil policy of the State Department, which instead of being a beacon of light, democracy, justice and so on (why shouldn't it be?) is all about intrigue, supporting dictators and terrorists one day, then attacking them the next, and other retarded policies which do not even serve US interests.

And in the continuation of the "soccer diplomacy", Armenia and Turkey talks have been deepening, and it seems must inevitably lead to diplomatic relations. Even Azerbaijan has said some remarkably civil and optimistic things, which is very unusual for them. Talk of a big push to even settle Karabakh seem to be in the air, for what must be the hundreth time since the cease fire was signed in the early 90s.

Parev Giliguia !

2008-09-14T23:52:00.003+05:00

After few months of silence, it might be time to put here�s news up to date�

What happened in my armenian horizons during the last months may not be interesting since it lost its topicality but let�s just mention quickly what comes to my mind to fill my duty :

- Biblioth�que nationale de France is looking for any Armenian publications of France, they have an important Armenian collection but they�d like to complete it seriously, it's again one of the nice suites of France official year of Armenia (last year) :o)

- Gas� last blues album has been launched last june, and had a specific concert for it in St Etienne last april, of course i went ;op

the album called "oriental mood" is very colored with �arevelyan mood� and also hosts some haunting ghosts of Gaspard's past (http://www.myspace.com/gasblues), but let's be straight : album just great in my opinion !

- The London Times Archives are available for free on the net ... archives since 200 years !!http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/archive/ lots of articles if you make a search about "armenia" so use it well !!!

- and a rather unpleasant feeling that Armenia, its population and lovers around the world arrived to a sad turning point; this last point of view is not easily lived of course, and also has difficulties to be expressed since most of armenians are really unwilling to talk openly critically about armenianity, but in fact the critics would be rather virulent� so let�s hope, and keep on working for better days...

About more recent things now (and maybe more satisfying), I just finally visited Basilique St Denis where rests the Kings of France... and where also lies the last King of Armenia (who was French in fact, L�on de Lusignan, King of Cilicia), here's the pics taken last weekend.

I had to go there since years but since it's here, you know what it is : always deferring... until an innocent Italian friend proposed to go there for tourism purposes. I couldn�t decently refuse ! ;o)

It was a nice visit, thanks to the official year of Armenia, more detailed explanations were available in French, English, and Armenian (!!!), for our old last king Leon and Armenia�s history, nice point !

Urish ? The freshest point : after summer holidays, schools and universities re-opening, another Armenian academic event that took place this week : http://aiea2008paris.free.fr
It�s a rather important colloque (lots of conferences) about many various Armenian studies, during 3 days from 10th to 12th of september. The schedule of the lectures is linked to in the web-page above, showing that it reunites academics of many kind and places.

To tell the true, I don�t know much more about it, and it didn�t receive specific communication in Armenian usual medias so it�s passing without much notice amongst Armenians here. It seems to be really specifically dedicated to professional academics. The only reason why I know about it is because some Venice Armenian friends arrived this week in Paris to take part to those conferences, and so I enjoyed their presence again :o)

These friends are worthy to mention also cause they�re academics of Venice University, linked to Padus-Araxes Association who organises summer intensive courses of Armenian language and culture since more than 20 years. http://www.padus-araxes.com/

I participated to this summer course few years ago and still meet those highly noble, cultivated and open-minded people with great happyness. Furthermore, what goes on during this intensive course is something unique that can�t be described in few lines. As a short glance it�s enough to notice that people who once attended this course usually come back, encourage others to participate, and still meet each other with the same extreme pleasure. Such it was for me, as well as for other friends�. It�s the kind of experience that entertains hope, for humanity or more humbly for any other improvement you�d like to see around you.

So let�s quote Bobby McFerrin�s sacred lyrics : Don�t worry Be happy !

Ciao-cio !

Boooooo

2008-09-08T19:33:00.002+05:00

So the soccer game is over, and I guess losing 2-0 is not too bad considering there are over 20x more people in Turkey than Armenia. It is impressive that the Armenian juniors team beat the Turkish juniors team a week earlier in fact!

During the Turkish national anthem, and during the game, the Armenian booing was very very loud. I guess this can only be expected, except that for a while now the Turks have loved to try and convince the world that it's only the Diaspora that has a problem with Turkey. That apparently natives of Armenia are fine with the genocide, the invasion and stealing of half of what was left of Armenia afterwards, the successful push to get Russia to give Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan, the lack of diplomatic relations, blockade and closed land borders. Oh, and now a new railroad to completely go around Armenia.

Yes, Armenians might be open to being treated like human beings, like equals - with relations, with trade, with person to person contact, but I hope that once and for all the myth of the groveling Hayastantsi that the Turks have been peddling has been crushed.

They're saying in Turkey this may lead to diplomatic relations, but not to get hopes up. Ooooo, aaaaaah, so generous of them to consider it.

When it comes time for reparations, they ought to have to pay them for as many years as they denied the genocide for, plus an extra penalty for all the years of closed borders as they tried to suffocate poor post-earthquake/post-Soviet Armenia.

Turkish President coming to Yerevan

2008-09-01T21:37:00.002+05:00

I don't know what to think of this historic news. Of course I think it's great that this is a step towards dialogue and relations, but it's also strange to invite someone to your country who has purposely done you such harm, such evil. By keeping the borders closed, refusing to establish relations, refusing to recognize the genocide and even going out of his way to start projects like the railway from Kars to Georgia, just to keep Armenia completely isolated and cut off, this man has shown that he wishes Armenia would just wither up and die.

Time will tell whether this results in any real changes in Turkey's policies, but I guess that it is impossible for them to get worse. It will also be interesting to see thousands of Turkish fans in Yerevan. Truly a new chapter in Armenian history is about to unfold.

The Caucasian Challenge

2008-08-18T15:09:00.003+05:00

www.caucasianchallenge.com

A road trip in an old school Russian car from Budapest to Yerevan? This should be fun!!

site update

2008-08-17T09:30:00.002+05:00

Good news... I've taken the sites off the market - my news stirred some conversation with a good friend and we've talked a good deal about what the sites need and what ideas we have for the sites. He has the perfect setup to give the sites a lot of dedicated attention. Keep your eyes peeled for lots of good things to come :-)

Farewell Blog

2008-08-16T05:40:00.004+05:00

It's been quite a while since I last blogged here, and from the looks of things, Cilicia.com may be changing ownership at some point. Having read Raffi Kojian's cyber "for sale" sign on the Cilicia.com site, this may be as good a time as any to say goodbye to blogging.

So, I want to publicly thank Raffi K. for giving me the opportunity and forum to write whatever I wanted on this blog since June 2001. I've enjoyed sharing my thoughts and meeting others through the experience.

2008 has been an interesting turning point for me personally and professionally. I have jumped back into the corporate world while still maintaining Pomegranate and YerazArt projects. My wife and I are contemplating a move from Boston to a destination that I have always had a passion for in the United States. We'll see how that comes through. Thinking about becoming parents sometime soon. I haven't been to Armenia since 2006, although I try to keep up through the blogs and personal/professional contacts.

Nearing 40 in a few years, it's time to move on to the next stage in life. So, thanks again to the Cilicia.com bloggers and readers for your comments and input over the years. I hope to catch you at a concert sometime soon...- Raffi Meneshian

Photo: White Sands National Park- Alamagordo, New Mexico 2006

"Swedish" wrestler throws away his medal!

2008-08-15T11:12:00.004+05:00

Speaking of wrestlers, this is hilarious! (And not just the part about Ara being "Swedish"!)

(CNN) -- Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw away the bronze medal he won in the Greco-Roman category in disgust in a protest over judging in his semifinal bout.

Abrahamian was beaten in the 84 kg class by eventual gold medal winner Andrea Minguzzi of Italy but was disgusted by the verdict, shouting at the referee before confronting the judges. The Athens silver medal winner had to be restrained by teammates and later went on to win a bronze medal match.

But the row continued at the medal ceremony as he only grudgingly mounted the podium and after receiving his medal made a point of taking it off and leaving it in the center of the competition mat.

Swedish fans in the arena disagreed strongly with the original decision, jeering the judges, while coach Leo Myllari also weighed in.

"It's all politics," he said.

The medal was later returned to the sport's governing body.

Armenia #1 in the Olympics!!

2008-08-14T23:32:00.003+05:00

The LA Times has a good story about the top ranking countries in Olympic medals... per capita. I have thought before about how high Armenia would rank if only things were measured per capita (it would have won this year's Eurovision for example if Eurovision votes had been weighed in relation to the population of the countries voting).

So Armenia, with 4 bronze medals so far, comes in at #1 with a medal for every something like 750,000 people. Then comes Georgia, then Australia.

Not bad for such a little country. Anyone who gets a gold for Armenia will be given $766,000 in prizes by the Armenian government ($66,000) and Dodi Gago ($700,000).

Following Gor Mkhitarian...

2008-07-19T11:15:00.007+05:00

I had flown out to New York in May and by chance heard that Gor Mkhitarian would be performing in the Village. I called up a friend who lives in NY and asked if she had any information about the show and she said that she and a few friends were going so I met them there. It was so great hearing Gor in another state.

I was even more excited when I learned Gor was going to be representing Armenian culture at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena during their summer concerts in the park series on one of the "world music" nights. My cousin and I packed up our beach chairs, a couple blankets and some snacks and headed to the show. We got there pretty early (during sound check) but our early arrival afforded us the opportunity to hang out in the park playing backgammon, eating her mom's homemade cheese and cucumbers accompanied by some tasty white wine. Slowly the crowd started rolling in. It was great to see Armenians coming out and also the numerous non-Armenians who had come to enjoy an evening of Armenian folk music under the stars.

As the sun set and the darkness took over I noticed how pretty the Levitt Pavilion and its grounds were. The trees surrounding the grassy area were blanketed with little white twinkly lights. Families with young children had come out, kids were dancing, adults were singing along. It was such a great night and the best part was that it was Free! Donations were being collected but in a very informal and casual no pressure way. It seems each night in this summer concert series has a theme. There's a children's night, a Jazz night, a world music night and a Latin night. I was bummed to see that, Quetzal, a Latin band I like had already performed a couple weeks ago, but I'm planning on returning to catch Los Pinguos another great Latin band! As an Armenian, I was proud and glad to see that our music was chosen to be included in this concert series and I'm glad we have a great artist like Gor to represent our culture! www.gormusic.com

Hunting Armenians in Santa Fe

2008-06-30T03:05:00.002+05:00

So, I�ve been here over five months now, and I�ve had very few worthwhile Armenian-related things to report. I had an adventure today, though.

The good thing about this college where I study is the freedom to organise just about anything. There are study groups of all sorts, and I decided to get together an Armenian one. Just three meetings, a basic introduction to the language, with some history and culture thrown in.

Now, I had already happened to run into two or three Armenians, and these classes are to be mostly for them, just as a refresher, or to get them interested in Armenian stuff. (Actually, today itself began with a chance meeting of yet another one, so that was a good omen.) Plus, maybe a few odars on campus might be interested. �But why stop there?�, I said to myself, �Why not do� the ole phonebook thing?!�. Yes, I had heard of this, crazy Armenians going through phonebooks, looking for names of their compatriots, just as we wait to read the credits at the end of movies�

So, I did. Santa Fe is a small town, so it wasn�t all that long and tedious of a task (although I did go through two different editions of the white pages), and I ended up with around forty names, some of which seemed dubious, that is, whether they were, in fact, Armenian. And today, I made all those telephone calls. Some of the numbers were disconnected, and I ended up mostly leaving messages (to the uncertainly-named, I would say, �I�m not sure if you are Armenian, but if you are, then��), but then again, I got to have a few VERY interesting conversations.

I asked one lady if she was Armenian, and she said, �No, but my ex-husband was�. Yikes! I thought that was embarrassing, but then I called up some other lady, and she said, �Yes, my husband was Armenian.�

�Was?�, I asked, and, as I was saying it, realised that I shouldn�t have�

�Yes, he�s passed away��

!!!

So embarrassing�

Then, I got one woman, who not only said she wasn�t Armenian, but added that she�d been asked it before! Too many random Armenians making too many random phone calls, it seems�

One that got me down was a man who said he was Armenian, but wasn�t interested at all in learning the language, or meeting others. My nationalist spirit gets deflated a bit when coming across such cases. Oh well� That was only-too-well supplanted by a lady who was VERY excited in hearing from me. She said she�d definitely come, and bring burma too (one of those sweet, cinnamony delicacies). She was incredibly bubbly; it was hilarious.

Then there was this lady who was temporarily renting the house of a man with an obviously-Armenian name. She turned out to be one, too, and told me the story of her grandfather who came over, and added in some details which, I think, might just be the ancestor of a friend of mine. I left him a message.

Another woman (yeah, I mostly talked to ladies) said she was Jewish, but wasn�t surprised in the least in hearing from me, because her barsgahy husband is just like that, too, always hunting around for other Armenians. They have kids, and one of the expressions that�s often-used in their household is �sous ara�!

But I think the icing on the cake � and I mean the really thick icing � was this old man I called. He didn�t even let me introduce myself or mention why I was calling, when he began to talk about how he needs to get in touch with a certain someone. Now, Armenian that I am, I knew exactly who this person was he wanted to contact, so it ended up being very Providential indeed. This guy had been around, and he spent a while telling me his stories, which were fascinating, but I did finally manage to get in why I was calling in the first place�

This was such a delightful experience. Very random, as they say, very random indeed, but I got to hear a lot of interesting bits and pieces, backgrounds, stories� I even got to congratulate one family on a newborn child. Frankly, it was hard to keep a straight face sometimes. Weird, but fascinating, just the way I like it�

Well, I�m looking quite forward to these Armenian classes. It�s always an adventure getting Armenians together, and I hope it�ll turn out all right. If anyone�s around Santa Fe during the next three Sundays, pop on by.

2008-06-29T23:07:00.002+05:00

Armenia, here I come!!!

Hey, sorry about not blogging so often, but too many activities these last months...

One big announcemente for my beloved friends in Yerevan. From 2nd July to 20th July I will be in Yerevan at the Marriott Hotel working.

I am very exited with this trip and I am sure it's going to be memorable.
In the meantime I am in Rhodes, Greece drinking a Frapp� (cold coffee).

So amigos, be ready, the bastermaniac forces are landing again in the caucasus...

bachigner,

Juancito

Oh, Susanna, Don't You Cry For Me...

2008-05-30T10:01:00.010+05:00

...for I come from Alabama, with my banjo on my knee!

Well, I don't have a banjo, but I definitely do come from Alabama, where I have been for the better part of this millennium. Crazy, no? Here all of you are, in France or California or somewhere else equally exciting and cultured, and here I am, in Alabama of all places, where the only history you can find is the battleground in someone's backyard where Andrew Jackson once fought Native Americans and where "Armenia" is as often confused with �Romania� as it is thought to be a Slavic third-world country whose citizens live in grass huts and ride donkeys to the marketplace.

Raffi was kind enough to let me contribute here, and I�d like to say thanks one more time. I have been reading pretty much everything you guys post and finally got the courage to ask if I can add something. Unfortunately, Alabama is very dilute as far as Armenians go. The Armenians that do live here are mostly centered around three major cities�Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile�but where I live, my family is pretty much it. There is diversity�it�s a university town, so there are students and professors from all corners of the earth. Just not from Armenia. There is no community, and the nearest Apostolic church is in Atlanta�almost two hours and a whole state border away. Overall, however, it�s a pretty nice town. Fitting for students of all sorts, and a good place to relax. "The prettiest village on the plains" is what it has been called for a few centuries now. (The same can�t be said of the same of the entire state, though.) The university itself is actually commended in many areas. Most of the local culture revolves around football, of which I�m afraid I will never be a fan.

Since the presence of the Armenian Diaspora is so weak, I personally grab onto the chance to connect with others (especially right at this moment, when I realize that the amount of academic work I have for the summer will keep me from going to Yerevan�every time I turn on the Armenia channel on satellite and see pictures or footage of the city, I feel like weeping my eyes out). I will be leaving Alabama�and probably the South�for college in a year, but I still try to bring some cultural awareness until then. As of now, I pride myself on having broadened the knowledge of some minds about Armenia beyond the scope of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Over the past few years, however, there have been a few brushes with our culture that seem worthy of mention, from the Egyptian marketing professor at the university here who sang (or rather bellowed) �Oh Siroun, Siroun� to my mother upon finding out that she is Armenian to the half-Turkish half-Armenian student here who has become a good friend of my family to the fact that Spivakov and the Russian Philharmonic gave a concert here one year ago and played an Aram Khachaturian composition as an encore. I'll go into detail about these semi-bizarre events only after earning approval from you guys (and finding out that I have not, in fact, bored you to tears by now). Being thus mostly devoid of anything to remind me of our culture (besides my relatives, who are the typical Armenian tyrants that replace your storybooks with Shirvanzade and Teryan and Sahyan when you are ten and constantly lecture you on the unforgivable sin of forgetting your language), I look to this website and all the blogs a haven of sorts. Being a part of it now is pretty nice.

And as a random note: How many of you have seen Yerevan Blues? You know the scene where Mikael Pogosyan comes to life in the tomb, covered in spiderwebs and sporting biker clothes? Well, listen to the dialogue carefully. When he looks around, his line is �Ara, es Alabamayi kayfere indz ur en berel?� It took me the longest time to stop laughing at this random oddity.

The Americana Arrives in Glendale!

2008-05-02T20:43:00.005+05:00

TODAY IS THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE AMERICANA AT BRAND!

From the people who brought you The Grove, The Commons in Calabasas, The Marketplace in Encino, The Village in Moorpark, The Promenade in Westlake, The Lakes in Thousand Oaks & the Waterside in Marina Del Rey....comes the Americana at Brand!

Last night I accompanied a friend to the Gala Kick Off Event of the Americana. As someone who has been following the career of developer Rick Caruso I was excited to attend one of his events which I had heard are always top notch. It was a black tie event and people were decked out in tuxes and pageant gowns! There were three lanes of valet. The valet and all the servers were wearing white gloves. There was a full open bar and passed appetizers. 2000 people were in attendance including the who's who of Glendale public figures including mayors past (Zarian, Manoukian, Yousefian...etc) and mayor's present (don't know his name he's some random white guy).

After the cocktail hour guests were invited to the top of the parking structure for a 3 course dinner prepared by Wolfgang Puck. It didn�t feel like we were atop a parking structure the space had been transformed into an elegant ballroom. The entire floor was padded and carpeted. The periphery was draped with swagging and valances. There were swanky bungalows to chill in and the nicest trailer restroom with automatic faucets and private stalls. The tables were dressed with dark linens, tea lights and adorned with center piece arrangements of white hydrangeas and roses, we were surrounded by heat lamps, giant screens and chandeliers!

The guests and performers of the evening included Rick Caruso, Governor Schwarzenegger, Maria Schriver, Jay Leno, Natalie Cole, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and TONY BENNETT! It didn't stop there folks.... there were fireworks! I hope they thought to send a mailer to residents nearby to warn them since the fireworks came on so late and I'm sure children may have been startled, not to mention some adults who probably got flashbacks of the civil war in Lebanon!

Did I mention the gift bags full of swag? Kiehl's products, Calidora gift cards, movie passes, ya! The whole shebang!

The Americana includes a Tiffany & Co, H & M, Sur La Table, Frida, Pacific Theaters, Urban Outfitters, Coffee Bean, Kate Spade, Kiehl's, Armani Exchange, Guess, Anthropologie, Barney's Granville Cafe, Forever 21, Barnes & Noble, Lululemon, Michael Stars, Puma, Ed Hardy, Lucky, Free People, Juicy Couture, J. Crew, Lacoste, Marciano, Kitson etc etc... Seriously this place is The Grove on CRACK! No ones going to go into the rinky dink Glendale Galleria anymore so I totally don't blame them for attempting to sue Caruso to thwart his efforts.

I give Mr. Caruso credit for being so great at what he does. His developments are perfection with every detail having been tended to. I also applaud the fact that made the Americana a "mixed use" development by including apartments and condos. However as a kid who grew up galavanting in the very streets of Glendale which surround his development I took offense when during one of his speeches he referred to Glendale as �blighted. I was bussed to St. Mary�s Church on Central afterschool everyday, growing up I came to the Glendale Galleria and Glendale Public Library on Harvard on the weekends, I hung out in these very neighborhoods as a teenager before and after AYF meetings, I volunteered in the summers at the ANC and Asbarez offices, I visited my Grandparents who lived on Wilson for years and never not once did I consider Glendale �blighted�.

Caruso's next projects are at the Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia and in Playa Del Rey. I just wish this man would take his magic and spread it in REAL blighted areas in South LA! I respect him for he is a successful business man and real estate developer. However, I would respect him much more if he took his projects out of upper middle class communities like Playa Del Rey, Marina Del Rey, Westlake, Encino, Calabassas etc etc and invested in areas that could really benefit from his projects because right now the way I see it� he�s only building where the money is to make his own pockets fatter! Is this what Glendale needed? Another capitalistic venture pushing consumerism on a society that didn't need any more of it? Well, at least it created some jobs so I guess there's our silver lining? But, seriously� Glendale? Blighted? Come on buddy have you seen the hilltop mansions with views of downtown and all the luxury cars?

Another point that I don�t think the City Officials who were probably seeing Sales Tax Revenue $$$ overlooked is how bad traffic was in the vicinity prior to this development going in. Especially during the Holidays with people trying to get in and out of the Galleria. I can only imagine how much more utterly hellish it is going to be because of "The Americana". Where were the transportation planners on this one?

Either way, what's done is done! The Americana is here so let's welcome it and just completely avoid Colorado, Central, Brand and Broadway! Especially during weekends and definitely around Holidays.

A day like others

2008-04-24T13:29:00.005+05:00

Bright sun illuminating Paris today� what about the rest ?
Everyone knows this world is an accumulation of sufferings inflicted to humanity, but it�s impossible to continuously apprehend all of it in every day�s life.
At least today, a lot of Armenians in the world will stop one moment in this life for remembering what has been undergone by some of ours, our great grand parents. Through this, it�s also necessary not to forget today�s horrors going on, at different places of the world. This, above justice considerations, is also justifying that the claim of recognition still has to be done.

On a more �local� side : today the demonstrations probably won�t be much covered by medias : our dismaying president Sarkozy will talk live tonight on all the political messes he�s in, and the world with him, so amusing isn�t it ?
The intw was originally programmed on 21th april but the date changed because the president wanted to attend Aim� C�saire's funerals.
Good to mention : this one was a real great man of french�s world, he died few days ago, and that event pushed under limelights his so valuable fights, and the fact that unfortunately those fights are still topicality : Aim� C�saire a great French martinican poet, politician, very involved in anti-racist fights, and who has made a goal in his life to speak for all the most suffered ones
His fights were those of the human being.

So ok, above all, let�s stay awake. In the meantime let�s receive what is offered to us today (last year the demonstration had been flooded by pouring rain) : a clear day to reunite, demonstrate, and claim, and still refuse firmly this kind of inhumanities!

2008-04-02T02:49:00.002+05:00

Armenian Cinema in Buenos Aires and Siktirakia!!!

All turns harder, even to blog ofently!!!

But anyway, here we are from the far away lands of South America trying to keep the Armenian culture as great as we can.

Charles Aznavour is saying goodbye to the Argentinean audience next 3^rd May. I think is going to be great, it�s incredible how he still can sing and make his show. I wish I could do the same when I get old!

I know I am always doing a kind of criticism of my beloved Armenian community from Argentina. But I have to be honest about something, thanks this community I knew lots of really nice people who I worked with and I know that I am still be working for many years. One of this cases is the film programmer, international chef and actor (I know for sure I am forgetting some more stuff about him) Jack Boghossian. Jack is organizing a complete schedule with Armenian films from Armenia. It�s a Cinema Club and its aim is to show the Armenian Movies and how our nation developed this art through the years. The first movie is going to be �The Return of the Poet� (Boedi Veradartz�), a film of Harutyun Khachatryan about the Armenian troubadour Djivani. If there is any tourist around here that would like to attend this event, take a visit to the AGBU of Buenos Aires, next Friday 4^th april at 8 p.m.

On the other hand, let me give you another surprise. As you know I am always linked to music. There is a new band here�Really original�

Bass Guitars, Rhythm Guitars, Drums, Keyboards�and electric Bouzouki!!!

The name??? Siktirakia�kind of ottoman rock revenge against oppression.

Enjoy the video.

More songs?

Click here: Bulgur Rain/Kartoshka (floydish style) or the soulish Funky Anatolia

Much love to all of you

HovhanneSS

Baron Berberian Strikes Again with Another Winner!

2008-03-12T21:09:00.000+04:00

After a somewhat disappointing experience at the Hamazkayin Mosaic-II concert I was looking forward to seeing Vahe Berberian's latest production Baron Garbis. I've always enjoyed Vahe's plays and stand up comedy routines so I knew I would probably love this play.

The play is very well written. The plot was easy to follow, the message the story was conveying came in loud and clear but in a fairly subtle way. The dialogue between the characters was rich and full of clever and witty discourse. There were only 3 characters but I didn't even realize it until intermission because it was so engaging and entertaining. The characters were so very well developed that I didn't feel the play needed any more characters. The main character, Baron Garbis, was the epitome of the typical Lebanese-Armenian from Bourjhammoud and his manner of speech and disposition on life were a dead on representation of the demographic he symbolized. The humor was very ethnocentric to the Lebanese-Armenian community which I didn't have a problem with since in fact, I found myself laughing almost constantly. However, at intermission I overheard some Persian-Armenians a few rows ahead who were discussing the fact that they didn't get some of the jokes and slang. I guess if it were the other way around and the play had been about a man from Tehran or Isvahan Arevmdahyes wouldn't have been able to relate to everything either. Regardless I could tell at the end of the play that they had enjoyed it.

This play was long overdue...I commend and thank Vahe Berberian for all his hard work. I can't even imagine what a complicated feat it was to not only write this play but to produce it, direct it and execute it night after night. It seems like a lot of hard work and it was nice to see that people were responding and coming out night after night to support his efforts.

A few weeks ago my cousins and I went to see Armen Movisisyan perform at the Barnsdall Theatre and although the place wasn't packed it was nice to see members of our community out on a Sunday evening doing something cultural. Sometimes it's nice to know that there are similar options in the form of plays and concerts that give Armenian families the opportunity to get out of the house on random nights of the week and partake in an Armenian cultural event.

The play Baron Garbis has been such a success that Vahe Berberian recently announced that he will be extending its run. Since there are two different casts performing the play my assumption is that everyone wants to see it a second time with the alternate cast. I know I am!

Serge has a blog!

2008-03-12T05:49:00.002+04:00

I just found out about this through the Armenian Observer blog -

serzhsargsyan.livejournal.com

That's right, the president-elect has a trilingual forum of sorts. Let him know what you think. The page warns, however, that "questions with insult and rhetoric speech will not be accepted". So, if you feel like it, try to get more than one insult in there, and don't put it rhetorically.

Or, seriously, just ask a question. Some of them up already are worth going through.

A Vahe Berberian Production

2008-03-03T21:12:00.005+04:00

On what's going on in Armenia...

2008-03-03T03:55:00.003+04:00

I wrote this as a Facebook note after the protests at the Opera were dispersed, but before the events of that same evening. I got a few responses, so I thought I'd share it with the world at large.

I have to let off some thoughts and feelings on the latest goings-on in the Homeland.

Of course the presidential elections were rigged. Who is surprised? When was the last time we had a truly free and fair election in Armenia? Even the most advanced representative democracies in the world have flaws - technical or otherwise - in their electoral processes, but in our case, to be sure, it was rigged outright, plain and simple, in Serge's favour.

Levon is in the picture, and his support base is apparently strong. What is the matter here? Sure, he was the leader, the forefront of independence from the Soviet Union, but surely everyone remembers his time in office, especially his very rigged re-election in 1996. Tanks came out on the streets then. This morning's occurrence in Yerevan was khaydarag all right, but there weren't any tanks... Not that it matters. The question remains: don't people remember what sort of president Levon was?

Okay, let's say they don't. That's one option. Let's say they do, and he knows they do, and, since September 21st last year, he's convinced the populace that he's reformed, changed for the better, and people are willing to believe him, and/or give him another chance. That's the second option.

On the third hand, maybe people simply wish to use him as a tool to get rid of Serge and Robert, and maybe Levon would like to be that tool. But to what end? There is absolutely no guarantee of a better replacement. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Of course, no-one can determine what "the people" think or want; it's probably a mixture of all that I listed above, both among different individuals, and probably within individuals as well.

Regardless of what happens, however, and as a friend of mine indicated to me, this is setting an example, a precedent. The people of Armenia don't want to be messed with or fooled anymore. The next time somebody wants to try something like this, he will think twice, whether he is Levon or Serge.

But Serge will probably win, so that will sort of null that point. If he does become president, though, his legitimacy will be very low indeed, especially after what happened this morning, which was to be expected. His legitimacy will be even lower than the usual sceptical approach people have to those in power in Yerevan.

Miracles have been known to happen. How about a few at a time? Get rid of the corrupt regime, put in place a more sincere regime, lawfully and legitimately change that administration for a new one, just as sincere, in five years... Three miracles in one go? Why not, why not...?

Armenians everywhere :o)

2008-02-26T16:24:00.007+04:00

Hello Cilicians !
Paris� still alive, and don�t worry : even if blogger�s betraying me, I won�t have tons to write ! I wanted to illustrate but blogger never want. TANT PIS ! I prefer to show pics (even if with links) and maybe when I have patience and time enough I�ll write more

January & February have been full, as foreseen, and Armenian subjects have also abounded for me, noticeably thanks to my France-Arm�nie missions.
France-Arm�nie is the magazine I sometimes work for, and �sometimes� can be more often than usual. The web-site is really cheap, but at least you'll see what it looks like http://www.france-armenie.fr/

In chronological order here�s the titles :

Commemorations for Hrant Dink in January, and amongst them, a rather surprising one, but all for the best, hosted by Paris� Town Hall the 26th of January : conference of the new chief redactor of Agos Aris Nal�i, Pr Baskin Oran, and the great Fethiye Cetin advocate of H. Dink's family, organised by Armenians and Turkish associations, reunited to honor Hrant Dink�s murder anniversary. Beyond it, reunited with his fight for truth and human rights in Turkey.
Was rather strange to go there at the beginning, but in fact all went so respectfully and clearly that I really get more encouraged about future, with still a long path to do, and big difficulties to solve.
More pics here : http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562594232ZvqGmC

Meeting Robert Gu�diguian, French, MARSEILLAIS, film maker, for 2 reasons :
*his new film that we�ll be launch in april �Lady Jane� a human and good thriller,
*and the book that a cinema journalist wrote about him (the first one) �Conversations avec Robert Gu�diguian�
Prolific speaker, with the Marseille accent, very simple and sympathic person, even if desillusioned he's looking for hope to keep ! He isn�t able to smile for portrait-photos, so you have to capture him naturally.
One of the photo I like best, is with the big poster of an ancient film of him �A l�attaque!� in a little library near Odeon where he presented the book with its author Isabelle Danel, a cinema journalist (meaning : let�s go, encouraging �cri de guerre� as we say, of �war word cried� to sheer up the troups).
Pics are here : http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562594997nsyLHE

Good food in jazzy mood with the Stared Chief Alain Alexanian, missionned by the oldest jazz club of Paris �Duc des Lombards�; http://www.ducdeslombards.com/
This mythic jazz club has been recently renewed by a jazz-fan President of a big French society of tourism (Pierre et Vacances, G�rard Br�mond), who save the club that would have, if not, been bought for becoming a brasserie�
Turned around music, and the scene, it is now also a place where you can taste and enjoy fine food http://www.ducdeslombards.com/scripts/restaurant.php
Refinement of pleasures�
I met the chief Alexanian, the best speaker of food and of how to make food in this place firstly devoted to music. Undone thing in the world until now, this combination is a real challenge due to the power of sincere and beautiful dreams. Alexanian is a militant of the fine but healthy and �bio� food, and Br�mond has been able to decide in 2 days to buy the jazz club he adored, when he learnt his miserable fate.
One of my favourite photos is Alexanian speaking on scene during the inauguration of the club, he talks with his hands... and you'd nearly think he's singing !
Photos here http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562594736rbMlEt

All this makes me feel all the most happy with my Armenian origins, this is what fit me the most with those roots : it's making meet with such a variety of life�s little worlds, not quite sure that I�d have experienced all this if not Armenian rooted� ;o)
It's like adoring one music, and discovering after that, that its author is armenian (classic example with the valse from Masquerade of A. Khatchadurian).

Guets� Tornado-Life & ARMENIA !

New Mexico. New Armenia?

2008-02-22T10:41:00.002+04:00

I thought I'd have difficulty writing regularly for this blog, and my fears are confirmed. I've been at university in New Mexico for over a month now, and there isn't much going on of an Armenian nature to report. I did a little presentation here on Armenian history and culture the other day. Turnout wasn't too bad... I've managed to talk to some Armenians in the area, but, as I said, no major activity, nothing big to report...

At least, not on this continent. Back in the Hayrenik, however, a LOT has been going on over the past few days, and I'd love to hear about it on the "Life in Armenia" blog. Meanwhile, I've been relying on the rest of the internet, and I haven't been disappointed actually. There's plenty of reporting, blogging, photos, videos... A lot of it is from the opposition, but the official news that one also gets is from the authorities in power, so I guess I'm getting a pretty balanced perspective. Suffice to say, this was not an option even a couple of years ago, so, I'm glad that technology and savvy Armenians have gotten around to making this possible.

As to how this political situation will end, well... Asdvadz medz e, God is great. Technology can't quite let us see that far. Yet.

Anmar munah mer kulkheen Zulaleen Arevuh!

2008-02-09T21:38:00.000+04:00

Hamazkayin, a cultural organization dedicated to promoting, enriching and preserving Armenian culture. At least, that is what I think Hamazkayin is, does and stands for. One of the many reasons I pride myself in my Armenian heritage is our "mushagouyt". As diasporans it's what we cling to, it's our identity.

Attending Armenian school as a child I loved "Mushagooyti Amees" when the entire month would be dedicated to celebrating our culture, the "Keereroo Kyood" and the "Voske Tar" seemed so lavish and exciting to me. It was the most exciting time of the year Armenian singers would come sing to us and our art projects would entail making "makaghat" and writing the Armenian Alphabet on it like Mesrob Mashtos. Outside of school Hamazkayin would serve to provide events like "kinetson"'s or Barakhoump performances, comedy nights, plays etc etc. In recent years I haven't been as active in the Armenian community as I used to be, however every once in a while an event catches my attention and I do my best to be there rain or shine.

Last year I heard about, but was unable to attend, Hamazkayin's Mosaic concert. I kept hearing great things about that event, so I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to attend Mosaic II in 2008. I had heard that last year Element, Gor, and Zulal had been featured performers. I've seen Gor and Element perform and enjoy their music, but I hadn't yet seen Zulal live and their music is simply amazing so I decided that I would battle the rain and get myself to Mosaic this year!

So on a rainy chilly night we set our for Alex theater in Glendale. I wasn't expecting the MC's to be comedians Lory Tatoulian and Ara Basil. It wasn't the type of comedy I had come to expect from Hamazkayin events in the past. These comedians were nothing like Vahe Berberian and his cronies. I looked around, as crude jokes were flying about, at the families who had brought their young children to a Hamazkayin event to experience Armenian culture and wondered what those parents were thinking about the jokes that were not appropriate for kids. When I was a kid we got Ani Barakhoump and long poems by Mari Rose Abousefian or whatever her name was and here are these kids getting jokes delivered in English about Kim Kardashian and sheep testicles.

The opening act was a rock band called Cantus Capella. Their music was 99% English and extremely loud. I didn't think they were bad and I wouldn't mind seeing them perform at the Troubador or Roxy but I couldn't help but wonder how this band's music reflected Armenian culture. Their songs and lyrics had no Armenian influence or content. Does the fact that band members are Armenian cut it? They did do the song Cilicia which I learned as a child when the Catholicos was coming to visit our school. I consider it a precious song for our community and yet here it was being performed by a rock band. I was perplexed, was this a good thing for the kids in the audience to be seeing? Is it going to make them think the song is cool? Are they going to understand why that song means so much to our community?

The next band was Visa. Once again some members of the band were Armenian, some of the instruments were Armenian and there were definite Armenian influences in the melodies but once again all the songs were sung in English and the lyrics had nothing to do with anything Armenian. It was nice to see this band because Djivan Gasparyan's grandson was playing the duduk and like I said the instruments and melodies did reflect Armenian influences but I couldn't help but wish they were just an instrumental band.

I must say at intermission I found myself wishing Element and Gor would have been in the show. I was relieved that Zulal was up after the intermission. Hearing the a capella Armenian lyrics and melodies had the audience captivated. Before each song they would briefly explain what the song was about. After each song the audience would clap and cheer and whistle bustling with excitement. They did songs from their old album and new album. One of the songs from their new album that I hadn't heard yet was so beautiful it made me cry. I'll admit it! I felt pretty silly but then I looked over at my cousin and she was tearing as well. Music had only moved me to tears like that once before and that was also after hearing a beautiful Armenian song after hours of hearing 'odar' music. I know I'm biased but Armenian is so much more beautiful to the ear! If you couldn't guess Zulal received an encore ovation and they came out and did a medley. They saved the day and made my trip out to Glendale worthwhile!

The next performer was a pianist/vocalist named Areni and her partner was an "odar" on the sax. They did a semi Armenian piece which had me thinking she should drop the sax and pair up with a duduk player. I know it's artistic and creative to pair Armenian pieces with instruments other than the usual Armenian ones, but at the risk of sounding super old fashioned, I like how our music and instruments sound and I don't think our culture or music is broken so I don't think it needs to be tweaked or changed up to these extreme extents. I think Zulal has managed to find a fresh new way to present classic songs like Ghapama, Sari Siroun Yar, Hars em Gnoum etc etc.

The performances I was seeing were somewhat upsetting to me. I couldn't help but see the parallel of what was happening in our community, reflecting itself in the musical realm. Our traditional instruments, songs and melodies were being mixed in with 'odar' ones and being assimilated. The marriage of Armenian musical elements with those of 'odar' ones was making me want to yell "voooch" I found it disturbing that instead of preserving our cultural elements Hamazkayin was embracing the changes. I guess I'm having trouble accepting this reality in both the societal realm and musical one.

We left during Areni's set and didn't stick around to see Sonya Varoujan. The first two band's sets had been so long that by this point we had been there for over 2 hours. In addition, I was done, I saw Zulal and didn't care to see more. I wasn't getting to experience the "Mushagouyt" I had come to absorb. I felt like the first half of the event should have been called "Hye-Rock". However, who knows.... maybe things like this draw people in, maybe people like it and the kids today need the 'rock' aspect to draw them in? Maybe I need to be grateful that the kids there that night got to see Zulal? I'm not sure but you can bet your "makaghat" that I'm going to be asking every kid I come across what they think!

I do commend the bands, they were all talented and I enjoyed their music. I just had trouble seeing how it all fit with "Hamazkayin".